Award Winning Event Strategist Driving Growth and Transformation For YOU | Plug-and-Play Project Manager | Technology Enthusiast | Always Curious

Shaping the Future of International Meetings | Collaborative Growth | Event Transformation

Curiosity - Innovation - Storytelling

As the Regional Director for North America at ICCA, I am passionate about driving growth and fostering collaboration within the global meetings and events industry. ICCA has stood at the forefront of shaping the future of international association meetings since 1963, and I'm honoured to be part of a team that champions innovation, sustainability, and advocacy on a global scale.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of strategizing, planning, and executing transformative events—from intimate gatherings to international conferences. My career has been built on an unwavering commitment to innovation, creative problem-solving, and a collaborative approach to ensure that every event exceeds expectations. Along the way, I've been fortunate to be recognized with honours such as "Planner of the Year" by Smart Meetings and a spot on the "40 Under 40" by Connect x BizBash.

But more than accolades, it's the connections I've built and the stories we've shaped together that truly inspire me. It was the Guinness World Record attempt to host the largest online event gathering, GMID Goes Virtual, in 2020, which connects almost all the industry associations across the globe. It was #EventprofsBreakShit that I co-founded in 2021, seeking an honest, authentic, but joyful way to explore event technology. 

These are the real rewards of our work, and they underscore the power of collaboration in our industry.

At ICCA, we're not just organizing meetings—we're creating spaces where ideas flourish, communities grow, and the future of our industry is redefined. I'd love to connect if you're interested in exploring how we can collaborate, build meaningful partnerships, or simply share ideas. Let's work together to amplify the value of international meetings and create sustainable, innovative solutions for the future.

Are you ready to shape the future of international association meetings? Let's connect and make an impact together.

Shawn (Yih-Hsiang) Cheng

Be Present for what matters — in business, in leadership, and in life. I help organizations and event professionals create intentional experiences that build clarity, connection, and real impact.

I value meaningful gatherings.

I believe leadership isn't only about making decisions...it’s about having the clarity, confidence, and space to lead with intention. Technology touches everything and I have been at the forefront of the digital-first economy since my first digital marketing role almost 20 years ago. 

I believe our best decisions come when we pause, reflect, and choose with intention. That’s why I founded Be Present LLC to help leaders and teams ditch the tech overwhelm and focus on what matters. 

I love mindful leadership, meaningful conversations, simplifying tech strategy, and showing leaders how AI can work for them instead of against them.  

I'm an event producer and strategist who helps organizations design meaningful, clarity-led experiences—both virtual and in person. 

Through my company, Be Present LLC, I partner with leaders to create events and trainings that foster trust, efficiency, and connection. 

Whether you’re planning a retreat, workshop, navigating tech overwhelm, a team meeting, or redefining how your team shows up, we meet you where you are and help you realign with purpose.

My work-from-anywhere lifestyle has shaped how I see leadership, business, and growth.

Events shouldn’t just be meetings. They should be experiences that spark clarity and connection.

Beyond work, you’ll find me traveling for fútbol, sipping my way through coffee shops on my #HowDoYouLikeYourCoffeeTour, or proving that mindfulness is a leadership superpower.

Marisa Cali

Can't keep this one to myself ... I'm a 2026 Cvent Connect Creator and honestly, it's been on my radar for a couple years.

Community, inspiration, an industry full of people who actually get it, and in my backyard? Yes, please. I'll be documenting the whole thing ... the moments, the lessons, the things you don't see on the main stage.

Nashville, let's go. If you're thinking about attending, use my link. Cvent wants to know who's in your corner.

#CventCONNECT

Link to register: https://lnkd.in/eRCYCKtN

Dara Burg 💙

💫Marisa Cali

Event Strategy & Consulting | Be Present for What Matters

Working from anywhere isn’t a trend for me.

It’s a discipline.

The events industry allows for it... if you understand energy, time zones, and presence.

I didn’t travel to Central European Time for a site visit.

I came here for a virtual project.
Why?

Because showing up at 2:00am from my home office isn’t the same as showing up aligned. 

Shifting my body into the time zone lets me manage:

• My energy
• My clarity
• My decision-making
• My presence on camera

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be supporting a team on APAC hours.

Same calm.
Same focus.
Same standard.

Whether I’m backstage in person or behind a screen, my role doesn’t change:

Bring calm to the chaos.
Protect the run of show.
Support the strategy.
Hold the room.

Event strategy and production support... globally.

Because presence isn’t about location. It’s about intention. #eventprofs

📍Gare Du Nord, Paris 🇫🇷

Eventastic is back for another round, and if you haven't already registered, you might need to get on this. The GURU Media Hub and Jay Schwedelson, along with other #eventprofs, really show us how it is done and it doesn't suck

The best part? It is FREE to register. Go here and get your ticket: https://bit.ly/4bpM51J

#eventastic

There was a time I would have looked at rooms like this and thought, “Maybe one day.”

Now I know better.

Getting to this season of my life and business didn’t start with strategy.
It started with self work — the honest, uncomfortable kind most people try to skip.

Because here’s what I’ve learned:

• Your calendar reflects your internal alignment.

• Your business mirrors your nervous system.

• Your impact expands only as far as your self-awareness does.

That’s one of the many reasons I respect the work of my friend Chris Vasami is bringing into rooms like The Legends Room in New York City.

Chris doesn’t teach theory. He builds systems that hold under pressure — shaped not just by his career as a professional baseball player, but by the resilience he forged after multiple cancer diagnoses and hypothyroidism.

For more than two decades, he’s helped high-performers stop negotiating with themselves and start building lives they actually respect.

Alongside Diana Mandell - LMSW, this room is designed for real internal shifts ...not surface-level motivation.

If you’ve been doing the work but know there’s another layer available…
this may be the room.

Self work is deeper than we think.

And far more powerful than most people realize.

📍 New York City
🗓 May 1, 2026
🎟️ https://lnkd.in/eJ73-tWM

Strategy matters.
But identity work is what actually changes the game.

Fellow SPEAKERS and fellow event planners/organizers: I am asking for 3 minutes of your time. 

Your time will help shape clearer standards and stronger collaboration between speakers and organizers across the events ecosystem.

I will speak for myself in that there is a lot of misalignment in this part of the events world... and it can be discouraging to see organizers devalue speakers. That, plus you have other speakers competing for scraps, seems ODD.

Tagging other peers who can help spread the word and complete it if you haven't - Anca, Shawn, Adam, Gabriella, Heather, Peggy, Chris, Dahlia, Christine, Nina, and Sarah ... I appreciate your help! 

( I couldn't tag you all!) 

If you fall on both ends of this survey, please complete it two times.

Open article: Speaker Collective Poll by form.jotform.com

taplio

The Battle

Shawn (Yih-Hsiang) Cheng

Marisa Cali

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taplio

The Battle

Shawn (Yih-Hsiang) Cheng

Marisa Cali

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Marisa Cali's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMarisa Cali's LinkedIn Performance